The Kitty Krew

Happy birthday, Pixie....and Goodbye, Gypsy Girl

2011-11-01T16:30:00.001-05:00

Pixie boy is so happy that he's 5 today! We're going to have a small party with the Krew for him to celebrate as we're kinda subdued right now....

...because with good news, comes bad news -- we lost our sweet Gypsy Girl on Oct. 21st. She was sick for about 6 weeks, and just didn't make it. Gypsy was only 3 and almost reached her 2nd Gotchaversary this past Saturday...

...but Ziggy, who was adopted at the same time as Gypsy, quietly celebrated their joint 2nd Gotchaversary with the rest of the Krew on her behalf.

So after two losses this year, we're down to four kitties in the Krew now. Really strange.

We're sorry to be so doom and gloom when we do manage to post. So we'll circle back around and say:

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, PIXIE!!!!!!!!!!!

Purrs and hugs to all,
The Mommy and The Kitty Krew
Bugsy
Sassy
Pixie
Ziggy

Sad September 1

2011-08-31T21:00:00.000-05:00

You may have seen the news on the Cat Blogosphere that today is Roxy's birthday. Unfortunately, we have sad news for you all. Our baby doll Roxy crossed the Rainbow Bridge back in early April at the age of ~5.5 years old after a sudden illness. We still miss her so much. Yeah, we know that The Mommy kinda considered her, and Callie, as the favorites; and yeah, the rest of us were a little jealous. But we didn't want both of them to cross the Bridge within 16 months of each other!

She was such a beautiful calico girl, a good sister to the furry butts and a great lap warmer and companion for The Mommy. We hope her and Callie are enjoying their time napping in the sun, chasing mousies and romping around with other CB friends over there across the Bridge. Give your furries/feathers or other non-human friends an extra pat in Roxy's memory, yeah?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On another note, we know it's been nearly a year since we last posted (or visited), and we appreciate those of you that still come by and post comments from time to time to let us know you're thinking of us; we think of all you guys, too! It's been some busy months for The Mommy, made worse by various health issues, some easily taken care of and some not so much.

We hope to start posting and visiting again, although it'll likely be sporadic and with no real schedule. Some of her health issues remain, including a chronic condition that changes life to a "new normal" kinda thing. But we're keeping positive and upbeat as best we can, and look forward to seeing what everyone has been up to!

Love, hugs and purrrrrrs to all,

The Kitty Krew and The Mommy

Celebrations!

2010-10-22T19:30:00.001-05:00

The last four months of the year bring a lot of events to celebrate here at The Kitty Krew, along with a few to mourn in remembering CAts who have LEft Before (our vSquillion, Caleb, was named in their collective honor). Since last year, however, we have an extra squishing of party time to do in a short time...so we convinced The Mommy to let us just party for an extended time!

We start off with an event today...yeah, this should have been posted earlier. It could be blamed on Blogger eating the post, but we all know who's to blame. Useless, that's you, Mommy. *sigh*

So, here's what we've got going on:

October 22, 2005 - Roxy's Gotcha Day: Yep, 5 years ago, Miss Baby Doll Roxy joined The Kitty Krew as a roughly 7 week old calico cutie pie! She's as adorable as they come, and loves lap time witih The Mommy....when she's out and about in the 'open', that is. She hides a lot these days in cabinets and the couch due to the antics of the younger boys.
October 29, 2009 - Gypsy's and Ziggy's Gotcha Day: Hard to believe, but it's been almost a year since Girly Girl Gypsy and He-Puts-the-Punk-in-Punkin' Ziggy were adopted and added to the house. Gypsy mostly stays to herself, unless she hears any other cats getting into a spit-and-hiss fight, in which case she runs right over to join in. Ziggy is the bane of Roxy's existence, as he quickly decided that she's his personal attack toy. Although the youngest, he's quickly become the Young Turk and often talks Pixie into joining his escapades.
November 1, 2006 - Pixie's birthday (observed): Darlin' Pixie is almost 4, and though he had a tendency to pick on Roxy and Sassy anyway, once Ziggy came along, it became a full-blown obsession in tandem with his new pal. And with or without Ziggy, Pixie likes to cop a 'tude and walk up to another cat and cuff 'em....just because he can. The Mommy isn't exempt, either. This black beauty should have gotten October 31 as his observed birthday since he's a Halloween cat!

4 events...11 days...so we're partying through the end of October! (And yes, we said 4 events...Gypsy's and Ziggy's Gotcha Days get counted as a separate event each. LOL)

So come join us when you can, and come back often. The magic food fairy will keep us well-stocked.

Purrs and hugs,

LiveStrong - Cancer Awareness

2010-10-02T00:01:00.001-05:00

In honor of all cancer fighters and survivors everywhere, including our very own Bugsy, we're proud to be participating in the LiveStrong blogging event today.

As many of you know, Bugsy had his right eye removed last year after a tumor was discovered, and that tumor turned out to be cancerous. He underwent radiation treatments for a three-week period in late September and early October last year -- yes, right about this time last year, he was finishing up those treatments. He's had 3 follow-up visits since then, the most recent in mid-August, and Dr. Cancer Vet says that so far, he's in excellent health with no signs of any recurrence of the tumor or any further spread of any cancerous cells from that tumor! We are thrilled and blessed with this good news, and hope the next visit in February continues the positive trend.

The Mommy's sister had thyroid cancer about 25 years ago, and has had a few scares since then of possible recurrences but so far, nothing substantial has happened. We're keeping paws and fingers crossed that this continues as well and that the scares go away. A shout-out to Auntie Tee if she's reading today.

Otherwise, The Mommy's family has been pretty lucky not to have any/many major cancer occurrences (either that, or she just doesn't remember them....which is possible as her memory seems to get worse and worse as time goes by, and she's only in her mid 40s!). She's known other people who got through cancer scares and others who weren't so fortunate and others who are still fighting. It's an ugly, scary, vicious disease and we wish all the best to anyone who has gone or is going through it, personally or with family and/or friends.

She's currently reading a fictional book series set on a not-too-far-flung future Earth, that includes mention of the discovery of an anti-cancer vaccine in the year 2023. Let's all wish and/or pray, whatever your preference, that such a thing comes true (even sooner maybe!)....

Bugsy and Sassy's Birthday

2010-10-01T00:01:00.001-05:00

It's our (observed) birthday today, along with our sister Callie, who became an Angel at the Rainbow Bridge last December. We're 7 years old now (yes, Ziggy and Pixie, Bugsy saw that crack on Tuesday about being "so old" now...he can still whip your butts, you young whippersnappers!), even if Callie is forever 6.

Recently, we received some beautiful ink drawings of our lovely angel Callie that we had commissioned from The Ball Guy (you know him from our dear friends at The Monkeys), and in honor of her birthday at the Bridge, we'd like to share one of those with everyone now. We think this is our favorite...but it changes everytime we look at them.

Isn't The Ball Guy great?? We heart him. Thanks so much, Ball Guy!

But today is not a day for sadness; no, today is a day for a birthday party, combined for us and Gypsy! So come on over and party party party with us all, and we can lift a niptini glass in honor of Callie as well. Come and go as you please all weekend long, there's plenty of food and drinks for everyone -- sorry kittens, pups and other youngsters, milk only for you.

Be here or be square!

and

Girly Girl Gypsy's Birthday

2010-09-30T00:01:00.001-05:00

Today is my birthday! I'm 2 years old today, although this is my first birthday here at The Kitty Krew. And it's my real birthday too, documented and everything, not one of those fake "observed" birthdays like most of the Krew have.

We're not going to have a party today though; but be sure to come back tomorrow to see why. I don't mind, I need to take plenty of naps to rest up!

Tuffboys Twofer Tuesday

2010-09-28T06:05:00.001-05:00

Hi peoples! Well, we intended to do better about posting this month but it hasn't quite worked out, has it? We've said it before and we'll say it again....The Mommy is so useless. *sigh*

The Kitty Krew has a busy week coming up, though, and wanted to get things warmed up. We are the young and tough boys around here now that Bugsy's gettin' so old (more on that later this week!) and we have a lot of fun wrasslin' around together. We're quick, though, so The Mommy can rarely get photos of us in action. You'll just have to mostly take our word for it. Here are a couple of actions shots she managed to get, though.

First, Ziggy tries to get at Pixie while he's playing in the trash can.

Next, we have a good old-fashioned paw fight on the chair fort, while Gypsy huddles underneath.

(In case you're wondering, naw, we didn't knock the chair over. The Mommy was cleaning underneath and was nice enough to let us play for awhile! )

Gotta go, we feel another wrasslin' session coming on...

and

It's Roxy's birthday!!

2010-09-01T00:01:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! Wow, hard to believe summer is basically over and it's September already. We kind of unexpectedly took off for the summer but we plan on getting back into the swing of things soon (it doesn't help that The Mommy's work thing has restricted certain fun places like YouTube and Facebook and, yes, BLOGGER from their internet connections - the meanies!).

But hey guess what -- today is my birthday! Or at least, the day we celebrate for my birthday, since we don't know the *real* date. I'm 5 years old now.

I think I'll celebrate by taking a nap.

We've missed you all and hope everyone is doing great!

Love,

Thursday Things

2010-06-10T06:05:00.001-05:00

Bugsy here, to tell you some Things on Thursday. As you saw yesterday, Gypsy and I had to carefully snoopervise the handyman guy on Saturday while he was installing the window aycee unit in the bedroom. We were the only two brave enough to come out and watch Mr. Bobby while he worked; the rest of the Krew were hiding under the bed, or even under the couch in another room altogether!

I'll admit that Gypsy was even braver than me, though; she got up pretty close to Mr. Bobby, while I stayed up on the bed with The Mommy. Look at Gypsy here, she even went over and checked out the inner guts of the aycee monster, while Mr. Bobby was putting the frame thingy in the window!

Later after Mr. Bobby was done with the window aycee in the bedroom, the rest of the chicken-cats came out of hiding and took a turn checking it out.

As for the status of the regular main aycee, the aycee repair peoples are supposed to be out here this morning to fix it. However, we're also supposed to be getting big thunder boomers this morning. So we're not sure if we'll be seeing the aycee repair people or not, since they have to do a lot of the work outside. At least it cools things down a little, and we still have the window aycee units in the meantime!

Purrs,

Wordless Wednesday

2010-06-09T06:05:00.001-05:00

and

Toesie Tuesday

2010-06-08T06:05:00.001-05:00

Look at all our toes! I think mine are the prettiest, of course.

Mancat Monday

2010-06-07T06:05:00.001-05:00

We're just chillin' out in the bedroom after our big Blogoversary Bash this weekened. We sure do appreciate everyone coming by, we had a great time and hope you all did too!

Ummm...but we have to apologize if things seemed a little warm and stuffy over here. Our air conditioning has been out since last Tuesday, and here in Texas in summer, that means it gets mighty hot mighty fast inside. Some of you might have noticed the A/C repair guy poking around on Friday afternoon during the Blogoversary Bash, and he had the bad news that it wasn't a quick fix (boo!). So you may have also noticed the handyman guy who came over on Saturday morning after The Mommy's urgent call for help, and he installed a couple of window A/C units to get us through the weekend (when 100 degree temps and 105 degree heat index temps were expected, though we don't think it really got *quite* that hot) and the next few days until the main unit gets fixed.

It was quite pleasant in the bedroom by mid-day Saturday, that's why we urged everyone to head that direction later in the day. Took a little longer for the kitchen/den/living area to cool off, but overall the window units are working pretty darn good...especially compared to how miserable we all were for most of last week.

We're keeping our paws crossed for getting the A/C properly fixed early this week...

and and

Blogoversary weekend!

2010-06-04T06:05:00.001-05:00

It's a blogoversary weekend bash here at The Kitty Krew!

Saturday, June 5th is our one-year blogoversary, but since we know many kitties don't get to visit much on the weekends (including us sometimes), we decided to party all weekend long, starting today. So come and go as you please, and help yourself to any of the tasty treats available to you.

We've got chick-hen...

And hams and sausages...

Pizza...

And roast lamb!

Fishies...

And more of the prawns that were a big hit at the house-trashing party.

Cheese, too...

Nip-tinis for the adults...

And milk for the kittens.

There are also plenty of Temptations, Greenies and other treats too, and we've got lots of mousies, nip nanners, and other toys to play with.

We'd like to thank everyone we've met over the past year for spending time with us, allowing us to come into your homes, and welcoming us into the Cat Blogosphere with open paws. A very special thank you to Wally, Ernie and Zoey of The Island Cats, who were the very first kitties to leave us a comment on our bloggie and welcome us to the CB, and who have remained good friends ever since. Other quite-early visitors included Eric and Flynn and Milo and Alfie, among others. We love all our friends! You've laughed with us, you've shared with us, you've purrrrred with us, and you've cried with us when we lost our dear Callie nearly 6 months ago. The CB is a great place to be.

Come on over and celebrate with us all weekend long!

Thursday Triumph Take Two

2010-06-03T06:05:00.001-05:00

Gypsy isn't the only one who can triumph over the little red catnip mousie and then be gracious enough to allow it to curl up alongside for a nap...

'Wards Wednesday

2010-06-02T06:05:00.001-05:00

We've recently been fortunate to receive a couple of awards from our blogging friends, and wanted to mention them here and thank our friends for sharing them with us!!

First, from Sammy and Andy, and also specifically to Pixie from Ernie at The Island Cats, we received The Versatile Blogger award.

There are 3 rules that go along with this award:

Rule 1. Thank the person who gave it to you.

Thank you very much, Sammy and Andy!!!! We love you guys, and your mamabug too. And to Ernie from Pixie, you rock, fellow House Panther! Thanks, dude!

Rule 2. Share 9 things about yourself.

1. If Pixie or Ziggy are chasing Roxy, Gypsy will run over and get in the middle of things - not necessarily to help either side, but just to get in on the fun.

2. Sassy loves to sleep on top of the chest of drawers in the bedroom - so much so that The Mommy finally gave up and put a soft blankie on the top for her instead of having anything else on top.

3. Our sweet Callie angel used to lay on the bathroom counter while The Mommy got ready for work. Ziggy and Bugsy sometimes will get on the counter, but they never just lay there and wait and watch like Callie used to do.

4. It's a good thing we have lots of places to sleep, 'cause none of us like to cuddle up very close together.

5. We all like to drink out of the kitchen faucet so The Mommy keeps it running a bit all the time in addition to having two water bowls. Bugsy and Sassy don't as much as all the younger kitties, though.

6. All of us except Gypsy like to take our turns curling up on The Mommy's lap. Gypsy still isn't very affectionate, although she will let The Mommy pick her up and pet her for a few moments, and sometimes rub against her leg.

7. Pixie absolutely loves to be picked up and held and petted, just like a baby.

8. Gypsy loves to be given treats and any time The Mommy even looks like she might possibly be walking towards where the treats are kept, Gypsy will run over there and sit by the container and meow and meow and meow.

9. Roxy sleeps under the couch a lot 'cause she has to hide from Pixie and Ziggy, who like to chase her. But as long as The Mommy is home, she's usually out and around.

Rule 3. Pass the award along to 9 bloggers who you think are fantastic.

Well, we think everyone is fantastic and we really hate choosing. And we know a lot of you have already gotten this and are quite frankly too lazy to see who has and who hasn't. So if you've already gotten it and we're giving it to you again, it's a compliment! We'd like to give it to:

1. Attie Cattie (and Audrey too)
2. Brian and all his sisters at Brian's Home
3. The Fuzzy Tales gang
4. The incomparable Fin
5. Our new friends at Katnip Lounge
6. The rascally Milo and Alfie
7. Neighbor Noir along with his family
8. Floofy Sweet Praline
9. All the kitties at The Creek Cats

Our second award was received from our friend Down Under, Miss Huffle Mawson, the Happy Cat Award! Thank you so much, Huff.

The rules say we have to list six things that make us happy, then pass this award on to six of our friends.

Since there are six of us, we'll each list one thing that make us happy:

1. Bugsy: Sleeping on a window perch in the window

2. Sassy: Being up on top of the kitchen cabinets away from Pixie

3. Roxy: Laying on The Mommy's lap

4. Pixie: Drinking from the kitchen faucet

5. Gypsy: Getting treats

6. Ziggy: Playing with twistie ties or pieces of cardboard on the kitchen floor

As with the other award, we're sure there are many who have already gotten it and we're not sure who has and who hasn't without checking, which we didn't. So if you've already gotten it...welllll, you can just not do the game part. We're going to pass the award on to:

1. Deli and Sammy at The Monkeys
2. All of The Island Cats
3. Inigo and Rumblepurr
4. Our friends Tasha, Franklin and Dobby at Mishkat (bonus happy thing, that they're blogging again!)
5. The lovely ladies at Jacqueline's Cat House, Calle, Halle & Sukki -- and Mommy and Daddy too!
6. Eric and Flynn

Whew! That's a lot of 'warding on Wednesday. It's time for naps now...

Toes, Tail and Tummy Toosday

2010-06-01T06:05:00.001-05:00

It's a Toes, Tail and Tummy Toosday!

See? It's my toes and my tail...on The Mommy's tummy!

Monday Memorial Day

2010-05-31T06:05:00.001-05:00

Today is Memorial Day in the United States. Its intended purpose is to serve as a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation's service. To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the "National Moment of Remembrance" resolution was passed in Dec 2000 which asks that at 3 p.m. local time, for all Americans "To voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a Moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence."

We at The Kitty Krew would like to dedicate today's post to those brave men and women throughout our country's history who have given their lives, at home and abroad, in whatever manner of service to our country. We also honor those who have served before and who continue to serve. Thanks to your sacrifices, we can enjoy our freedoms.

Finally Friday

2010-05-28T06:05:00.001-05:00

Well, I went back to spend the day with Dr. Vet all day again yesterday to follow up on my bladder infection I told y'all about a couple of weeks ago. I really hate that, having to stay all day, but it's the only way they can steal my pee to test it. I'm too ornery to cooperate otherwise!

Turns out I still have blood or blood cells or something like that in my pee, so he gave The Mommy a different kind of Auntie Biotic to try for a few weeks. She's happy, 'cause it's already in liquid format so she doesn't have to do the crush-up-the-pill and mix-it-with-water thing twice a day that she'd been doing. I'm happy, 'cause it's only once a day instead of twice. Well, as happy as I'm going to be, having to take any medicine, that is. I'll still fight her about it, though. MOL

Speaking of fighting, when they came to take me out of the big cage to put me back in my little travel cage to go home with The Mommy, I got all hissy with them and startled them! I thought maybe they were gonna take me and poke and prod and be mean to me some more, 'cause I didn't know she was there too. I almost got all scratchy with them, but then I saw The Mommy and realized she was there to rescue me (even though it was all her fault in the first place that I was there ), so I let them coax me into the travel cage without scratching anyone.

I'm so ready to be out of all the cages, though, that I'm just a blur!!

Oh yeah, we wanted to let you all know that we won't be around to visit much over the upcoming long U.S. holiday weekend -- The Mommy's bean brother had one of those Big Number birthdays last week, so they're having a big birthday bash on Saturday and since their bean mom and stepdad as well as their bean sister and niece and nephew are flying down for the weekend, The Mommy will be off doing family things and abandoning us all day every day. Sheesh. So we hope you all have a safe and fun-filled weekend, wherever you are!

Thursday Triumph

2010-05-27T06:05:00.001-05:00

After a hard-fought battle and victory over my nemesis, the little red catnip mousie, it's always good to curl up for a nap. And to show what a graceful winner I am, I never mind if the mouse curls up with me too. It's just good manners, after all, and of course I am a ladycat.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-26T06:05:00.001-05:00

Twofer Tuesday

2010-05-25T10:20:00.002-05:00

A rare sighting of Gypsy up on the kitty condo, hanging out along with Bugsy...

and

Mancat Monday & Belated ML Birthday Wishes

2010-05-24T06:05:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I guess I really should have paid more attention to what Sassy said last week about the cage and the moving vehicle thingy and going to see Dr. Vet. And Roxy the week before that. You guessed it -- it was my turn this past Saturday. *sigh* And I didn't like it one bit, I told The Mommy all about it on the way there, too.

Heh - I showed Dr. Vet too...when he gave me the second deworm-y pill, I spit both it *and* the first one that he thought I'd swallowed already back up on the table! MOL Of course he just shoved 'em back down again and made me swallow 'em, but I showed him who was boss the first time, by golly.

Now let me out of this cage!!!

PS -- A belated but heartfelt happiest of birthdays to ML, mom of the Sherwood Bunch and Queen Bean Extraordinaire of the Cat Blogosphere!! We're sorry we missed it yesterday...The Mommy is so useless. *sigh* We hope you had a super day and thanks bunches for all you do for all of us in the CB!!!

Finally Friday

2010-05-21T06:05:00.001-05:00

Yay, it's Friday!! I don't know about you kitties, but we'll probably be doing a lot of napping today and this weekend...of course, we do a lot of that on every day!

I'm going to get a headstart on things with a little nap on the hammick.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday Thoughts

2010-05-20T06:05:00.001-05:00

Hi kitties! Sassy here, to warn you to always be on your guard. You never know when you're going to be scooped up from a perfectly good napping spot and suddenly plunked into the carrying cage, forced into the moving 'car' thing, and :shudder: taken to see Dr. Vet, where you not only have to deal with all the awful smells of unknown creatures, but you also get poked and prodded and have stuff shoved down your throat and get stabbed repeatedly with pointy things. THEN, after all that, you get plunked back into the cage and forced back into the moving thing before you get back home and finally released from the cage.

It's not a pleasant experience, let me tell you. It happened to me on Saturday and I won't soon forget it. Roxy tried to warn us, 'cause she went through it the week before, but I didn't believe her. Next time I'll listen, even if she is just a youngster. The good thing is, The Mommy says everything is okay and I shouldn't have to go through it again for a year (Roxy either). I'm telling you, in a year -- however long that is -- I'm going into hiding!

Stay safe, kitties!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-05-19T06:05:00.001-05:00

and

Tortie Tuesday

2010-05-18T06:05:00.001-05:00

I know, I know, it's odd to see me on a Tortie Tuesday. But remember, I am a dilute tortie (essentially, instead of mostly black furs with orange and white and gray, I have mostly gray furs with orange and white and black). So that means I get to do Tortie Tuesday too!

This photo of me napping on the end table actually shows my tortie colors quite well, I think.

And this photo shows the tortie 'tude for sure. This is the look The Mommy gets when she bothers me with the flashy box thing one time too many.

Feel free to 'borrow' this look to use on your own human, even if you're not a tortie!

Mancat Monday

2010-05-17T06:05:00.001-05:00

A flashback to Mancat Training before Ziggy became a mancat...

Pixie: This is how you drink out of the kitchen faucet, Ziggy:

Ziggy: But what if I'd rather just lick the sink?

Pixie: *sigh* This is going to take some work....

and

It's a Jungle Out There

2010-05-14T06:05:00.001-05:00

In the jungle, the mighty jungle...
The panther stalks his prey...

Because, well, you never know when a vishuss evil milk jug ring will go all rogue and attack!

It just looks all innocent and unable to cause mischief lying there like that...I know better though.

The Tuesday Thief

2010-05-13T06:05:00.001-05:00

Yes, I know it's Thursday, not Tuesday. But you guys are not gonna believe what happened to me on Tuesday! It was a very traumatic experience. I'm only just now able to talk about it. I mean, the nerve! She took me...! And he...! And I had to...! Oh I still can't talk about it. The Mommy, you tell them.

The Mommy: All right, Bugsy, I'll tell them. Calm down, honey. You see folks, about a month or so ago, I noticed Bugsy, erm, behaving inappropriately outside of the litterbox --

Bugsy: Oh stop being all delicate about it. I was peeing where I shouldn't, okay? Like in her bathroom (The Mommy sez: where there's carpet, by the way) and in the entry on the front door and in the laundry room (and that's only the places that she knows about... ).

The Mommy: Oh dear. Anyway, so off to Dr. Vet he went a couple of Saturdays ago, with all the signs of a bladder infection. He didn't have any urine in his bladder that could be tested for a bladder infection --

Bugsy: That's not true, I just wouldn't let him steal my pee! Ha! So there!

The Mommy: Yes, Bugsy, you showed him, didn't you. But with his symptoms and his history last year of having a bladder stone, Dr. Vet decided to go ahead and put him on a 2-week regimen of twice daily medicine, with a follow-up visit on Tuesday. This time, I was to drop him off in the morning and let him stay in daycare allllll day with Dr. Vet and the nice vet assistant people....to give him plenty of time to provide some urine for a test, just in case. We had to do that last year too.

Bugsy: You see that? She ADMITS to carelessly neglecting me by making me stay at Mean Ol' Dr. Vet's ALL DAY LONG!! And while I was there -- THEY STOLE MY PEE!!!!!!!! That, after pumping me full of fluids to make me have pee in the first place. Sheesh, it's like fake pee or something. I don't think it even counts.

The Mommy: Well if you'd cooperate in the first place, maybe I wouldn't have to leave you there all day, Bugsy. Unfortunately, as you've found out, you do indeed have an infection, with just a hint of blood cells in your urine as well, so you're on drugs for another two weeks, me boyo.

Bugsy: WHAT? You're going to torture me with medicine treatments twice a day for TWO MORE WEEKS? Awwwwww, man.

The Mommy: I'm afraid so, dear. That may partly be my fault, I skipped a few of the doses in the prior two weeks, when you were hiding too well or I was too tired or didn't want to bother you. But this time, I'm determined to give them all to you, so we can knock this out before it gets worse like last year. You don't want that again, do you? Surgery again? Lots of pain?

Bugsy: Welllllll....no, not really.

The Mommy: No, I didn't think so. We'll just have to get through it now and get done, and hopefully that will be the end of that.

Bugsy: Well, at least you were able to get them to do my rabies shot and other annual stuff while I was there Tuesday even though it was a few weeks early, so now I shouldn't have to go back to see Dr. Vet for a long time, right, Mommy? Right? Um, Mommy? Why do you have that innocent yet evil look on your face?

I don't have a good feeling about this...

Tuesday Toesday

2010-05-11T06:05:00.001-05:00

Look at me! Look at me! I've got toesies on Tuesday! Even my tail and some tummy! Aren't I just too adorable??

It's all in the perspective, of course...

Wow, take a gander at these toes! I even skeer myself a little with this photo...

Mancat Monday

2010-05-10T07:30:00.001-05:00

Hi peoples! Ziggy here, for my first official Mancat Monday post. It's hard to believe I'm really a Mancat now...and that I've been here at The Kitty Krew for 6 months already (Gypsy too)!

I started out here as a 6-month old skeered kitten, skittish and wide-eyed...

But soon found out that there were fun scratching thingies...

And all sorts of toys to play with!

Of course, the most important thing to remember....is naps. Always take out time for a nap or three.

We hope all you moms out there -- whether you're a mom to humans, kitties, woofies, or other critters -- had a great Mother's Day yesterday!

Purrs,

Ziggy's a Mancat!

2010-04-28T10:00:00.001-05:00

Anybody need a new Mommy? Ours is useless...totally useless...

It's my birthday this week...my FIRST birthday, making me a REAL MANCAT...and The Mommy knew it was this week, but she thought in her head (a reallllly scary place, we'd bet) that it was tomorrow. But did she bother to check her records early in the week to see for sure?? Noooooooooooo! She waited until this morning. And guess what? It was yesterday!! So she totally missed it. SHEESH! It's not every day a boy kitten turns into a mancat, and The Mommy missed the occasion completely...even if only by a day. Just can't get good help any more...

I think I'll drink a niptini, now that I can...

And then take a nap.

The Mommy sez: I'm very sorry I missed it, Ziggy. I know it does no good to say I've been very busy at work, since of course you guys come first and all that...so I'll just promise to make it up to you, my not-so-baby boy. Okay? Am I forgiven?

Ziggy: Welllll...maybe. I'll think about it.

P.S. We think we'll be back to regular bloggy-ing and visiting after this week, The Mommy's work will slow down (relatively) once the deadlines at the end of April will have passed; we've missed everyone and can't wait to see what you're all up to!

Two-Fifty Tuesday and Book Review

2010-04-06T06:05:00.001-05:00

Hi peoples! Sorry we haven't been posting or visiting since The Mommy got back from vacation, she's been really really busy at work and she's neglecting us dreadfully. Well, okay, she's not neglecting us, just our bloggie-ing and visiting. Unfortunately, it looks to remain that way for much of the rest of April due to month-end deadlines or some such excuse. (And then there's also some talk about a 4-day trip out of town next weekend? What???!!! She's abandoning us again already??!! Sheesh.)

But we wanted to get in a post today and finally lay to rest our 250th post -- that's right, this is post Two Fifty!! We've been trying to think of a good way to celebrate ever since we realized we'd be hitting that number right after The Mommy returned from vacation, and finally decided that a book review would be the purrrrrfect thing.

A book review, you ask? Why yes, yes indeed. A very nice bean by the name of Chris Dolley contacted The Kitty Krew and asked us if we'd like to read and review his [we think Chris is a he...apologies if we're wrong!] new book, The International Kittens of Mystery. Well, heck yeah! We love kittens of course, and with this blurb, we were hooked:

In an uncertain world there is one organisation that stands head and small furry shoulders above the rest. Whenever the planet is in danger – be it from giant balls of wool or bands of renegade squirrels – only one group is guaranteed to answer the call.

The International Kittens of Mystery!

This is a journal of their stories. For the first time, cameras have been allowed into one of their top secret training camps – Training Camp Alpha. A camp where, under the supervision of pet humans, recruits are shown not only how to save the world but also how to manage their secret identities – how to blend in and infiltrate the human society that they alone can protect.

If you like a laugh and looking at cute pictures of kittens saving the planet, this is the book for you.

IKM is a quick (30 minutes or so) but really fun read, with thrilling stories of kittens undergoing their training as well as using that training in real-life, dangerous situations. We were on the edge of our seats as The Mommy read it to us, and looking at the photos! Oh My Cat! Those IKM kittehs are masters of disguises....and so darn cute. (That must be part of their disguise!) This is a must-read book for kittens and cats of all ages...woofies too!

This ebook will work best on the computer or a color ebook reader because of the photos, but The Mommy read it to us using her 1st generation Kindle, which only shows black-and-white photos, and the photos showed up good enough on it to be able to enjoy them in that format, so don't let that stop you.

Twelve paws up from The Kitty Krew!

IKM is available at Book View Cafe in several ebook formats, including PDF for those without a specific ebook reader.

We hope to get around to see you all soon, and to post more than we have lately, but just know that we may be scarce for a few more weeks!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-24T07:15:00.000-05:00

We're Baaaaaaaaaaaack!

2010-03-21T18:15:00.003-05:00

We're back! (She's home!) We're back! (She's home!) We're back! (She's home!)

The Mommy has finally remembered where she lived, and came back home this afternoon. Although she wasn't too happy when she got here -- our House Trashin' Party was a HUGE success but we forgot to hire the maid service to clean it before she got back... Oh well, we had a great time partying with our buddies all week long, and we were so happy to see all of you that were able to stop by -- thanks so much for coming!

It may take us a couple of days to get back in the full swing of posting and visiting...but at least we're back. For those of you whose beans are interested in pretty/interesting pictures -- though we are at a loss to explain how photos without cats in them can be considered pretty OR interesting -- The Mommy promises that she'll be posting on (and therefore pimping here) her other blog in days and weeks to come once she sorts through the millions and millions of photos and videos she took.

Friends, it's good to be back!

House Trashing Tuesday!!

2010-03-16T06:05:00.001-05:00

The Mommy's on vacation, and we're having a House Trashing Party!!

Come and join us as we party party party like there's no tomorrow. Boy, won't she be surprised when she gets home!! MOL

We've got all sorts of food for everyone to enjoy. There's fishies...

And shrimpie-type things called prawns...

And there's some cheese....

We also have chick-hen....

And hams and sausages....

Oh, and look at the roast lamb...

There's pizza too....

Niptinis and other frozen cocktails for the adults....

And milk for the youngers (that includes you, Ziggy -- you're not a mancat yet!)...

We also have plenty of Temptations and Greenies and other treats, as well as lots of toys to play with. Curtains in the den, dining room and bedroom to climb on, couches in the den and living room to claw on, and blinds everywhere to tear up.

Stay as long as you want, and we can make this a party to remember. Let 'er rip!!!!!

We've Been Abandoned!

2010-03-12T06:05:00.002-06:00

The Mommy has abandoned us and gone to Huh-Why-Eee on 'vacation' with some of her bean family peoples and won't be home until the 21st. The 21st! Can you believe she's abandoned us for that long??!! Sheesh. At least we don't have to go to a pet hotel or boarding facility for all that time, we get to stay home and we'll have a pet sitter come in and check our food and clean our litter boxes while The Mommy is gone.

But we won't be posting, and we likely won't get to visit our friends. Geesh. We'll miss you all, and hope you won't forget us while we're gone.

Maybe we can get a house-trashing party in while she's gone...we'd been thinking about it already and everyone yesterday thought it would be a good idea too! We'll see what we can do...

See you all in about 10 days (if not before)!

A Vacation? Srsly?

2010-03-11T06:05:00.001-06:00

We've mentioned a couple of times this week that we'd been hearing nasty rumors about The Mommy abandoning us, and her mumbling things about 'vacation can't get here fast enough' and such. Well, we've finally found out what's going on.

SHE'S LEAVING US FOR 9 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe it? Tomorrow morning, she's getting in a skinny long slender tube-looking thing called a 'plane' and 'flying' (what is she, a bird??) across the country and across the OCEAN -- WATER!!! -- to this place called Huh-why-ee. And is she doing any of this with US??? Why no, no she's not. She's ABANDONING us and going with people. Okay okay, they're her bean family people, but still. It's not US. Forget the fact that we wouldn't want to be stuck in cages for hours and probably wouldn't like flying, especially across the ocean. That's not the point. It's the principle of the thing. Sheesh.

Roxy has volunteered to demonstrate for you all our use of the Back of Disrespect in showing The Mommy just how we feel about this 'vacation' thing....

'Vacation' schmacation. Sheesh.

PS -- Sorry to Brian and Lynx that we didn't get any St. Patrick's Day contest posts done before this 'vacation' thing...we need a new assistant.

The Acatemy Awards - Our Movie

2010-03-10T06:05:00.002-06:00

Our friend Fin, who comes up with some of the most fun games and themes for the cat blogosphere to enjoy, is holding The Acatemy Awards this week. We're just squeaking in with an entry. Unfortunately, The Mommy was pretty useless at coming up with something creative, so what we have is this lame-o 'movie' entry.

Oh, the video is cute enough...just not necessarily Oscar-worthy. The Mommy keeps mumbling something about 'running out of time' and 'getting ready for vacation' (what IS that v-word she keeps talking about?) and 'too much work to do' but we think she's just lazy! This isn't going to look good on your Purrfurmance Review this year, missy.

So anyway, without further ado, we present to you: Pixie and Ziggy starring in...Fight Night.

Breaking news flash! After seeing some Acatemy Award entries out there in the bloggie-o-sphere earlier in the week, we were able to be a little more creative and memorialize some past acting efforts in movie posters never before seen!

First up, we have Bugsy, from his starring role in X-Men: Origins, back in the day before he lost an eye. It was an important role for such a young mancat!

Then, we have Ziggy with role in Quantum of Solace. Watch out, Ziggy, that fire is hot and dangerous!

Next, we have Roxy as a young girlkittencat in Tomb Raider. Even as a youngster, she was quite adventurous.

And finally, Ziggy dreams of the Oscar statute and being on stage to accept his Best Actor award.

We hope you enjoyed our movie and movie posters!

Tortie Tuesday Tribute and Angel VSquillion

2010-03-09T06:05:00.001-06:00

Time again for another Tortie Tuesday Tribute, in honor of our sweet Callie. Regular readers will recall that our beautiful girl went to the Rainbow Bridge unexpectedly back in December, a week before Christmas, at the regretfully young age of 6. It's been nearly 3 months, and The Mommy still looks around for her sometimes, calling her name during one of those roll calls of 'where is everycat'. We miss her bunches.

Below is a montage of some of the many Faces of Callie (bigify to see better). While most photos are unrelated to each other in the time and space continuum (MOL), the 3 in the lower right were all taken on her last evening at home...though we didn't realize that at the time. The second photo in the upper left is classic Callie, she loved to lay with her paws crossed like that, she was quite the little lady!

We'd also like to introduce our newest blog family member, our Angel VSquillion, Callie, named obviously in honor of our dear Callie. We had previously adopted another VSquillion, Caleb, in honor of all our CAts who LEft Before, but when the Angels became available, we decided to adopt one specifically for our most recent angel.

Thank you to Miss Gracie and all the others who handle the vSquillion adoption processes!!

We love you and miss you, Callie Boo.

Mancat Monday

2010-03-08T06:05:00.003-06:00

Despite our hopes in yesterday's post of Spring springing, we actually had a chilly rainy dreary day all yesterday, with a similar forecast for today. The Mommy had to go into the yucky work thing yesterday for a few hours too, so we didn't even get to cuddle with her much. And of course she's back there today. We also have heard some nasty rumors about The Mommy abandoning us sometime soon, and the luggage box thing came out yesterday after she got home, which is never a good sign...

Between the nasty weather and the nasty rumors of The Mommy abandoning us soon, we're just gonna lay around and be depressed on this Mancat Monday.

Easy Like Sunday...or is it?

2010-03-07T07:05:00.001-06:00

It's Sunday, and you know what that means. Yep, it's an Easy Like Sunday day, which usually results in lots of naps.

On the other hand, if it seems like spring is springing where you are, the sun is shining, the birds are tweeting, and you have an urge to get up and move, perhaps this video will get your toes a'tapping (be sure and have the sound on, although it's fun to watch without sound too):

Enjoy your Sunday, however you spend it!

Silly Saturday

2010-03-06T07:05:00.002-06:00

What?? You think I shouldn't be laying under the shelf unit? Well geeesh, just look at the floor over there by the rug and on it. The Mommy obviously needs to drag out that loud scary vacuum monster and clean up, I can't possibly be expected to lay on all that mess! Sheesh.

We won't even talk about all the dust on those shelves.

Just can't get good help...

Finally Friday

2010-03-05T06:05:00.001-06:00

The Mommy doesn't understand why, when the poof bed is so big, I always lay on one specific end spot. Even if she moves that spot around or tries to smooth out the bed, I always find my spot and sleep only there. I don't know why either, I just like it!

Happy Friday, I hope you find your favorite spot and get to enjoy it this weekend!

I'm Being Watched

2010-03-04T06:05:00.001-06:00

I get this feeling I'm being watched...I get these glimpses out of my right eye...

Now I'm getting them out of my left eye!

Oh. I am being watched. It's The Mommy and her flashy box thing.

How long are you going to have that thing so close in my face? Sheesh.

You'd better stop it, or I'll take a page from Tesla's book and smash you!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-03T06:05:00.002-06:00

Touch Up Tuesday

2010-03-02T06:05:00.001-06:00

The Mommy has been helping out this author guy as a beta reader for his last two books (and is about to start a third), by reading them as he's writing them and marking up minor typos and errors and touching them up, adding suggestions, and all that.

Well, as we cats know, the humans can't do anything without proper kitty supervision and assistance, so here I am, reading along with her. Umm, Mommy? You need to mark that word...

Sheesh, and I didn't even get a mention in the acknowledgment like she did....

Mancat Monday

2010-03-01T06:05:00.001-06:00

Hi kitties and peoples! Wow, can you believe it's March already? This year is just flying by. So many naps, so little time...

Don't I look just so handsome in this photo? Not only does the burgandy cat condo show off my black furs quite well, but so do the pretty peacock feathers behind me. I'm gorgeous!

Sleepy Saturday

2010-02-27T07:05:00.002-06:00

It's a Sleepy Saturday here at The Kitty Krew...

PS - check out this cute video our Auntie Tee sent us the link for!

Friday Fun

2010-02-26T06:05:00.003-06:00

Ziggy: This is my chair!

Gypsy: No, it's my chair!

Roxy: Nuh uh, it's my chair!

Sassy: My chair, it's my chair!

Bugsy: Mine mine mine, it's my chair!

Pixie: Sorry kitties, but I'm the King of the Chair so it's my chair!! Ha, so there!

PS -- yes, we're letting The Mommy pimp her blog again; today it's Maui memories...

Thlurpy Thursday

2010-02-25T06:05:00.002-06:00

THLURP!!

Gypsy's not the only one who can do that...

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-24T06:05:00.002-06:00

The Rest of the Story

2010-02-23T06:05:00.001-06:00

So, you kitties were wondering what else happened when I was sneaking up on Bugsy in yesterday's photo. Here's...the rest of the story!

A few seconds after the stalking photo from yesterday, here I was taking a little sniff:

And then, I gave him a little love whap -- it was just like counting coup!

While there is no photographic evidence of exactly what happened next, I maintain that I escaped unharmed and without Bugsy getting a paw on me.

This photo of Bugsy just a few minutes later does show he was startled awake by my whap, but was still in pretty much the same comfy position:

So I obviously didn't do him any real harm...no big pouncing attack, but no cuddles either!

PS -- yes, we're letting The Mommy pimp her blog again; today it's Texas sunsets...

Mancat Monday

2010-02-22T06:05:00.001-06:00

Bugsy: Snore...snore...snore...

Pixie: Mwuhhahah....he'll never see me coming!

and

Easy Like Sunday

2010-02-21T07:05:00.001-06:00

We had a great time with the Cat-O-Lympics this past week, but we're very tired! So we're just taking it easy today, Easy Like Sunday. Here's a rare photo of Pixie, Ziggy and Gypsy enjoying the Santa Paws cat condo together...or at least at the same time.

Hope you're all enjoying an easy Sunday too!

and and

Silly Saturday

2010-02-20T07:05:00.001-06:00

I won't look at you and you can't make me!

Friday Fun

2010-02-19T06:05:00.000-06:00

Shhhh....be vewy vewy quiet...

I'm hunting a mousie!

Oh look, I caught it!

PS - We've had a lot of fun participating in the Cat-O-Lympics this week! What a great idea by Fin to have them, and a lot of the bloggies came up with great events. We only wish we could have participated in all the events, but we just ran out of time. Thank you to everyone who came up with events that we could be in and to the judges for giving their time, and good luck to all of the entrants -- we've seen so many great entries on the bloggies and everyone deserves a gold medal!!

PSS - A slight pimping of The Mommy's bloggie - some pretty Hawaiian waterfalls there today!

Thursday Cat-O-Lympics - Quadruple Events

2010-02-18T06:05:00.001-06:00

As you know, the Cat-O-Lympics are being held all over the Cat Blogosphere this week (established this year by the beautiful Fin with events being suggested and/or hosted by many other kitties).

Today, we're participating in four, count 'em four, events!

First up, Fin's Auntbean Jennifer is hosting this event in homage to her kitty, Nessa - Hiding! Our entry for this event once again features that cutest of the cute, Mr. Ziggy, who was caught hiding under the boogie mat just recently. Good thing The Mommy had her flashy box thing nearby!

We also just heard about one of the events being held by our friends, House of Cats, Extreme Climbing! Now, regular visitors to our bloggie know that we can be found on top of the kitchen cabinets a *lot* -- everyone but Gypsy (and maybe our departed Callie) has been up there. So we have plenty of entries that we can use for the indoors division of this event. Which one to choose was the question! In fact, we're going to do two entries for this event -- one on top of the kitchen cabinets, and one on top of the kitty napping tower (featured yesterday). That one takes a lot of effort to get to the top of!

Here's our entry for the kitchen cabinet, featuring Bugsy:

And here's our entry for the kitty napping tower, also featuring Bugsy on the tippy top shelf (this was taken in August just a couple of weeks after his eye removal surgery -- he was already back to extreme climbing that quickly!), with a cameo appearance by Pixie on the shelf just below him:

For our third event, we're making a late entry into Fin's Balance Beam event. We may be too late for the official competition, we're not sure (no rules, right?), but The Mommy just remembered this photo and it's the only one we have that would work. Featuring Pixie, balancing on the shower door while at the same time sticking his tongue out at Bugsy, who is on top of the bathroom cabinet (another potential entry for Extreme Climbing!):

Finally, we didn't think we'd be able to have an entry for Milo and Alfie's Bare Paw Fighting event, as we really do more wrestling or chasing than we do smacky paw fighting. But in looking for one of our other entries, we found this photo of Ziggy and Roxy getting after it with paws extended and ready to rumble. Not a great entry, but about the best we'll be able to do, and it shows what bare paw fighting is really all about, we think!

Wow, these Cat-O-Lympics take a lot of work and agility...we may have to take tomorrow off to recover! Good luck to everycat and everydog in these events!

Wednesday Cat-O-Lympics - Competitive Napping

2010-02-17T06:05:00.002-06:00

As you know, the Cat-O-Lympics are being held all over the Cat Blogosphere this week (established this year by the beautiful Fin with events being suggested and/or hosted by many other kitties).

Today, we're participating in an event that our friend Huffle Mawson is hosting - Competitive Napping. Now, this is different from the Synchronized Snoozing event we participated in yesterday. Synchronized Snoozing requires, well, snoozing with synchronicity. Competitive Napping just requires napping -- and boy oh boy, do we know napping!

We've got 3 entries for this event (hey, with 6 cats in the house, it's okay if we do multiple entries, isn't it? we know they won't all win!). We don't have any really cool spots to sleep like Huffle and her parsley pot, or the trees that Paddy and Dushi of Cats in Trees have (they're a lock for a medal, we think, after seeing their entry). So we're going for the "adorable" look with our entries.

Our first entry is Pixie - isn't he cuuuuute? How can you resist the upside down head with one arm curled up look?

Next is our personal favorite entry - everyone say 'awwwwwwwwwwww' for Ziggy! Isn't he just too adorable for words?

And finally, we have an entry with 3 kitties that are doing their own form of competitive napping. You'll notice that Ziggy in the middle cat bed is all curled up, Roxy on the upper microfiber blankie is stretched out on her side with the right paw extended, while Bugsy on the bottom in the bright pink poof bed is stretched out on his tummy with both paws extended. They each have their own preferred form and method in their competition.

Good luck to all the entries, we've seen some really great ones!!

Tuesday Cat-O-Lympics - Synchronized Snoozing!

2010-02-16T06:05:00.002-06:00

You have all probably heard about the Cat-O-Lympics being held all over the Cat Blogosphere this week, started by the incomparable Fin with events being suggested and/or hosted by many other kitties. We didn't come up with an event to host (though the laser eyes we did on Saturday would have been a fun event if only we had thought of that! d'oh!), but we're going to try and participate in some.

Today, we're participating in an event that our friends The Island Cats came up with - Synchronized Snoozing. Now, normally, we don't much snooze next to one another, so you won't find us all curled up together like the cute photo of Ernie and Wally on their bloggie yesterday. But as it happens, The Mommy had just taken this photo on Sunday and she realized it was as close as we would probably be able to get for an entry into this event, so figured what the heck!

This piece of furniture might be known to most humans as a "curio shelf" or "knickknack shelf"...but of course, to kitties, it's a "napping tower". You'll notice that one shelf does not have a proper napping towel, but that's only because none of us ever snooze on that shelf (or do we not snooze there because there's no towel? Hmmm....). But in this photo you can plainly see that Gypsy on the lower shelf and Pixie on the shelf above her are both snoozing away in perfect synchronicity...synchronicity...synchronicity... (oh, sorry, The Mommy started hearing The Police in her head while she was typing! )

BUT! Did you notice the ear and furs poking up on the very tippy top shelf? You may have to bigify to see, there's a third kitty enjoying the synchronized snoozing of the kitty tower - Ziggy Boy was also snoozing away on that Easy Sunday afternoon! So we have a Triple Synchronized Snoozing going on!

We do have a second entry, going for that all important tug-at-the-heartstrings sympathy vote. Teehee.... We've been looking for the perfect use of this adorable photo, and this seems like just the time. We present to you, the Reverse Image Synchronized Snoozing, starring Roxy and our dear Callie, which occurred just a couple of weeks before we lost her.

We hope you've enjoyed our Cat-O-Lympic entries!

PS - A slight pimping of The Mommy's bloggie - it's stormy there today!

Mancat Monday

2010-02-15T06:05:00.001-06:00

Pixie: Uh, excuse me? Why are your feet on this cushion, Mommy?

The Mommy: Well, Pixie, because this is my footstool under my computer desk and my feet are usually on this cushion. And you, my darlin', usually aren't on this cushion.

Pixie: Oh. Well, you should know that any cushion in the house is firstly for us kitties and, therefore, your feet shouldn't be there. Thus, I must attack them!

The Mommy: Ow ow ow ow ow....

Pixie: Okay, I'm done attacking. Nap time now...

Super Laser Saturday

2010-02-13T07:05:00.001-06:00

We cats are quite adaptable and adjustable when it's necessary (and we feel like it), and can make our laser eyes show at different colors and intensities.

For instance, in this photo Bugsy provides an example of a bright gold sparkling laser eye (and proves that losing one eye doesn't affect the ability to shoot lasers out of the remaining eye):

And Ziggy shows his lighter -- but still bright -- gold, almost white, sparkling laser eyes here:

While mere moments later, he modifies them to a quite vivid blue, that aren't quite as intense:

In this photo, Roxy shows her very intense bright green lasers, without the starry effect:

Here we have Sassy and Bugsy with the rare 2 cat/3 eye laser show, not quite as intense in part due to distance from the subject (teehee...this was just a couple of days after Gypsy and Ziggy came on board and when The Mommy got up that Saturday morning, she found Sassy and Bugsy hiding? hanging out? on top of this small kitchen cabinet -- one of the few times they've ever been up there at the same time...):

Finally, here are Ziggy and Sassy with the 2 cat/4 eye laser show in a bright intense white but without the starry effect:

The Mommy really likes the blue lasers, but they don't seem to show up as often as green or white do. We do what we can...or at least what we feel like.

Friday Fun

2010-02-12T06:05:00.001-06:00

We're so excited! Today we get to go spend time with Sam and Andy on The Island! We're so pleased and thankful for the invitation and just know it will be a great time.

Most of you probably already know Sam and Andy but if you don't, get on over there and meet them, they're cool cats and their Mamabug is pretty neat, too.

Gypsy is getting one of the boogie mats warmed up and ready for flight.

Hope they don't mind if we arrive a little early, we're too anxious to wait!

Thankful Thursday - Bugsy Update

2010-02-11T06:05:00.003-06:00

Hi peoples! 'Tis I, Bugsy, The Bugster, Bugsy Boy, Bugseroo, The Mancat of All Mancats (okay, so I made up that last one ) -- and I'm very thankful today. Why? Well, because despite having to go in the kitty cage Tuesday morning and a long long long extra long icky car ride (dang traffic jams!), and then having to stay at Dr. Cancer Vet's alllllll day - I got a really great health report from Dr. Cancer Vet.

But first let me digress for a moment...for those new to the bloggie since November, you may not be aware of why I only have one eye. Rather than go through the whole story again, you may want to read this summary of the medical dramas I went through last year, and right here is my last visit to Dr. Cancer Vet in early-mid November. Go ahead, I'll wait...

Okay, back to the current story, so on Tuesday I went back to Dr. Cancer Vet for my 4-month check-up -- that is, 4 months since my last radiation treatment. He'd previously said that after this one, he'd probably want to do a CT scan in another two months, to really check things out. But at Tuesday's visit, he said that there's "no evidence of tumor recurrence or metastasis to the regional lymph nodes." Now I can't say I know what all those words mean, but Dr. Cancer Vet and The Mommy both said it means all good things. AND....AND!!!!...not only do I not have to have a CT scan in 2 months, I now don't have to go back for SIX, yes SIX, that's right SIX WHOLE MONTHS! Woot!!

So I'm really thankful for such a good result from my icky visit to Dr. Cancer Vet. Thank you Dr. Cancer Vet man, and thank you, The Mommy, for loving me so much that you make sure I'm being taken care of and getting all better.

Love,

Wordless Wednesday

2010-02-10T06:05:00.001-06:00

Tortie Tuesday Tribute

2010-02-09T06:05:00.001-06:00

It's time for another Tortie Tuesday Tribute, featuring our dear Callie. For those new or newish to the bloggie, Callie became ill unexpectedly in early December and passed on to the Rainbow Bridge a week before Christmas. At that time, there were still quite a few good photos of her that had never been posted, so The Mommy made several collages of them and we've been sharing those one or two at a time since then.

This first collage is a series of photos taken just the night before Callie passed. The Mommy had received a package in a rather small box, and Callie was determined to take a nap in that box -- and by golly, she managed to fit herself in all curled up! (Biggify to see better)

This second collage shows Callie in some of her favorite napping spots. The upper middle photo shows her curled up in the corner of the couch, just where we pictured her being in the photo shown on last Friday's post of the 6 of us left behind...

*Sigh* We really miss Callie.

Mancat Monday

2010-02-08T06:05:00.001-06:00

Ziggy: Can we talk? Y'know, I really like my older brothers, Bugsy and Pixie, and they're really cool about teaching me what I need to know to be a Mancat in the 3 months I've lived here. But sometimes they start yelling at me and I get all confused and do the wrong thing. I hate when that happens.

Bugsy: Can we talk? Y'know, I really like that new youngster, Ziggy, and he's pretty good about learning what he needs to know to be a Mancat. But sometimes, his mind starts wandering and he's not paying attention and we have to speak sharply to him and then he gets all upset with us. I hate when that happens. I also hate laying on this one shelf that doesn't have a towel on it, why am I not on one of the three shelves that do have towels on them for our comfort? But I digress...

Pixie: Can we talk? Y'know, I really wish Ziggy and Bugsy would be quiet, they interrupted my nap. I hate when that happens. Oh, and doesn't this pink poof bed show off my black furs even better than it shows off Bugsy's gray and white furs?

and and

Super Bowl Sunday

2010-02-07T07:05:00.001-06:00

It's Super Bowl Sunday! And even though our team (da Cowboys) isn't in the big game, we'll be headed over to Gracie's for her big Super Bowl Party. We hope to see you there!!

Sleepy Saturday

2010-02-06T07:05:00.001-06:00

This is how we spent a lot of The Mommy's birthday yesterday...except for when we were being spoiled rotten, of course. We enjoyed it so much, we may just rinse and repeat today.

The Mommy sez: Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes! You kitties and beans and all are just so wonderful. It was a great birthday, and your good wishes meant a lot!

and

Finally Friday and a Birthday

2010-02-05T06:05:00.003-06:00

It's Finally Friday! And it's also The Mommy's birthday! We asked her how old she is today, and she said she's about 2-1/4 times as old as all of our ages added together. We never were very good at math....so she finally took pity on us and told us the actual number. We weren't sure if we should tell anyone else, though, but she said she didn't care, it's just a number. So we'll just whisper it and we know y'all won't tell anyone. She's 45 today!

In honor of her birthday, we decided to give her another photo opportunity with all 6 of us in one shot for another Super Spectacular Sextuple Cat Platinum Crown Jewel! We're good kitties like that. Teehee... And just picture our dear angel Callie laying there on the couch against the arm on the white and burgandy blankie, that was one of her favorite spots.

And The Mommy's birthday present to us today is taking off work for a 3-day weekend (gotta take advantage of those semi-rare Friday birthdays, she says), so that she can lavish more attention on us! Sounds like a good birthday to us...

Happy Friday to everyone, and a very happy birthday to The Mommy! We love you!

PS - Today is also The American Heart Association's Go Red for Women National Wear Red Day, to bring attention to heart disease in women. We're not wearing red because, well, we don't wear clothes. But The Mommy is wearing a red shirt today in support of this important health issue -- maybe your beans could join in, too?

Thankful Thursday

2010-02-04T06:05:00.002-06:00

A few weeks ago, we got a wonderful email from our friends Tristan and Crikey:

"We had the highest bid for the print over at Fiona's auction! The print was donated by The Creek Cats, in honor of their sweet Cal (he's at The Bridge now). Well... we would like to have this print sent to you in honor of your sweet girl, Callie. We thought of her when we saw the print:) "

Isn't that so very sweet? We accepted their lovely offer, and a week or so later, this beautiful print arrived at our house:

It took another couple of weeks for The Mommy to get it framed and hung, but here it is (yeah, the photos aren't all that great...trust us, it looks great on the wall!):

Thank you so much to Tristan and Crikey and their mom, and also to The Creek Cats for the donation of the print to the auction and for sending it to us. It's so great to have such wonderful friends in the Cat Blogosphere, and we very much appreciate it. The print of Miss Maggie May the Tootlebug will remain in a place of honor in our home, in memory of both Cal and Callie, as well as a great reminder of our friends Tristan and Crikey and The Creek Cats. We love you guys!

Wordless Wednesday (mostly)

2010-02-03T06:05:00.001-06:00

(I'm channeling my inner Misha...)

Thlurpy Tuesday

2010-02-02T06:05:00.002-06:00

THLURP!!!

PS - I may not have had much to say today, but I did tell The Mommy that she could pimp her other blog here on my post today. She's got some pretty sunset photos on it today, so check it out!

Mancat Monday

2010-02-01T06:05:00.002-06:00

Bugsy: Watch me closely, Ziggy, this is how you attack the nip nanner...

Ziggy: That looks great, when will I get a chance?? Oh, right now? Okay, how's this, Bugsy?

Bugsy: That's pretty good, Ziggy, I think you've got it!

and

Easy Like Sunday

2010-01-31T07:05:00.001-06:00

It's another Sunday here at The Kitty Krew, a little chilly outside, and we're once again taking it easy and planning on napping a lot. Doesn't that sound like a good plan?

When Ziggy sleeps, Ziggy sleeps hard...and The Mommy's lap (or part of it MOL) is always a good napping spot...

In her first week here, Gypsy liked to sleep on the seat of the recumbent bike...

Pixie, like all of us, always enjoys a nap on one of Peggy's hairy blankies laid out on the couch...

Roxy really likes the soft thick mats that are now on the window perches...

Like Pixie, Sassy could nap on Peggy's hairy blankies all day long...

Bugsy has taken a liking to the big bright pink poof bed we got from Santa Paws...

Friday Fun

2010-01-29T06:05:00.001-06:00

My nip nanner! Mine mine mine mine mine! Yummy yummy yummy, nom nom nom... Oh lovely nip nanner, you are the best!

Nap, Interrupted

2010-01-28T06:05:00.001-06:00

I was taking a nice nap on the couch one evening and was interrupted by something (probably The Mommy) and ended up down on the floor. I was able to resume my nap shortly thereafter, and I thought I would share the proper steps for preparing yourself for the resumption of an interrupted nap just in case this ever happens to you.

First, a good stretch always helps to work out any kinks from having been curled up in one position for too long.

A robust yawn gets the blood flowing again, and loosens up your jaws.

Finally, just curl right back up and get back to napping, even if you're now in the middle of the floor pathway. After all, you're most important and your beauty sleep is vital.

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-27T06:05:00.001-06:00

Thlurp, thlurp, thlurp

Tummy, Tail and Toes Tuesday

2010-01-26T06:05:00.004-06:00

Oh go on...snorgle my tummy...you know you want to.

(PS -- not that it matters all that much, but just in case it was confusing, in yesterday's post, that was me, Bugsy, in the first photo and Pixie in the second photo, showing Ziggy (in the third photo) how the leaping should be done. The Mommy really should have made that more clear. We just can't get good help...)

Leapin' Lizards!

2010-01-25T06:05:00.001-06:00

As you all know, we (Bugsy and Pixie) take our duties for teaching young Ziggy -- as a Mancat-in-Training -- very seriously. We've previously shown you our efforts on getting him to oversee our domain and attack nip toys, and he's shown great progress in his nearly 3 months with the Krew. We turned our next efforts on showing him how to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

Haha! Just kidding. But jumping is important to us kitties, so we had to make sure he had the technique down. Form is everything, with arms and body outstretched.

You also need your head up to see where you're going, and a straight back for that aerodynamic edge.

Speed is good too, so you're just a blur as you fly through the air.

By jove, we think he's got it!

and

Easy Like Sunday

2010-01-24T11:25:00.001-06:00

Peekaboo! I see you!

We're taking it easy around here today, Easy Like Sunday. We're sorry we haven't been around much this week, either posting or visiting; The Mommy's been sicky so she hasn't been able to help us on the computer much. She's feeling better though, so we should be back in the swing of things this week.

Hope you're having an easy Sunday, too, friends!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-20T06:05:00.001-06:00

Toesies and Tail Tuesday

2010-01-19T09:15:00.001-06:00

Look at me! You can see my toesies and my tail, and even the tippy top of me.

I really love to sleep in this curved part of our new kitty condo that Santa Paws brought us.

I'm so cute, I just make The Mommy melt...

Ziggyfest

2010-01-16T07:05:00.001-06:00

(I made this when I was first playing around with Picasa's collage feature in preparation for making the Holiday Card back in November. I just threw a few photos together of Ziggy from his first couple of days here, to see how it worked. I kinda liked the end result so kept it to eventually post...and here it is. Oh, and obviously, Ziggy was having a hard time adjusting in his first couple of days here... )

Freaky Friday Fun

2010-01-15T06:05:00.001-06:00

Pixie moved right about the time this shot was taken -- as cats do -- but the end result was kinda interesting, we thought. Perfect for a Freaky Friday Fun entry.

Happy Friday, friends!

Thursday Toysday

2010-01-14T06:05:00.004-06:00

We're having a Thursday Toysday! (Okay, really it's just an excuse to clear out a few older photos of us checking out some new-at-the-time toys...teehee)

Here are Roxy and Sassy checking out a few catnip toys we got back in September:

Roxy takes a turn at the pillow toy.

Now it's Sassy's turn, and as she shows, it's great for bunny-kicking!

Next, Roxy gives the fishy a try.

These catnip balls have proven to be a big hit. Roxy has a turn with the bright pink ball...

And then so does Sassy (who has had a bit too much nip, we think!).

We got several of those catnip balls, and everyone likes them. They have a nasty habit of disappearing, though...

and

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-13T06:05:00.001-06:00

Tortie Tuesday Tribute

2010-01-12T06:05:00.001-06:00

It's time for a Tortie Tuesday Tribute post, in honor of our dear Callie. She's been gone 3-1/2 weeks now -- has it only been 3-1/2 weeks? Has it already been 3-1/2 weeks? Time both flies and crawls all at the same instant.

Thinking of her being a guardian angel for Saturday's Sextuple Cat shot made me think she'd have been right in there lying there on the carpet, on her back with her belleh waiting to be snorgled. That was one of her favorite napping positions. I had a few of those unposted belleh shots -- waiting to be posted but that never made it -- that I put together in a collage as they're too cute not to use. (As always, you can bigify to see better.)

Callie also just loved the hairy blankies we got from Peggy, especially if I was on the couch with her but even if I wasn't. As these previously unposted photos show, she would even put up with other kitty company if she had to, to be able to lay on a hairy blankie.

We have more Callie photos to share, but that's it for this Tortie Tuesday Tribute. We hope you enjoyed them.

Monday Mancat-in-Training

2010-01-11T06:05:00.004-06:00

Ziggy here! As part of my mancat-in-training, I've taken it upon myself to watch lots of football. I like to watch up close and personal.

I find that giving them a helping paw now and then, to point out open receivers or holes for the running backs, seems to be appreciated.

And they always enjoy a cheering section, although I can never get them to throw the ball to me.

The above photo, from Friday's caption contest, is a bit misleading though. I certainly wasn't cheering for either team -- that was the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles that were playing! For those not familiar with U.S. football, we're firm Dallas Cowboys fans here at The Kitty Krew, and both of those teams are hated rivals in the same division. At the time of that game, in mid-December, all 3 teams were still in the race for division title and wild-card playoff spots. So in that particular instance, I was trying to put a hex on all the players on both teams! MOL

And now, to announce the winner of Friday's Caption This contest! There were a lot of good entries, and some were very similar, and we couldn't really decide which we liked best in our totally random nonscientific completely biased opinion -- so we put all the entries in a hat and drew a name. Okay, not really, we put all the entries in a list online at random.org and let them pick a random entry. And the winner is.... (drumroll please) .....

Madi and Mom!!

Congratulations! Please email us (our email is on the sidebar) with your address, and we'll get a little something to you...eventually...

Now on to the most important part of my training...

Superior Scribbler Sunday

2010-01-10T07:05:00.003-06:00

Our wonderful friends, Milo and Alfie, received the Superior Scribbler Award earlier this week, and they were sweet enough to pass it along to us! Thank you, boys, that was so very nice of you.

The Superior Scribbler Award was started by The Scholastic Scribe to celebrate their 200th post. To read more about the Superior Scribbler Award click HERE.

As with every award, there are some rules that need to be followed:

1. Each Superior Scribbler (SS) must pass the Award on to 5 deserving blogger friends.

2. Each SS must link the author and name of the blog from whom he/she received the award.

3. Each SS must display the award on his/her blog and link to the post which explains the award.

4. Each SS is asked to visit the post which explains the award and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List.

5. Each SS must post these rules on his/her blog.

Like everybody else, we hate following rules, but we will. We'd like to give it to everyone of course, but we can't (darn rules!), and we'd like to give it to someone who hasn't already gotten it, but this award has been flashing through the Cat Blogosphere like crazy lately, so we're not exactly sure who has already gotten it. So we'll just take our best shot at giving it to 5 of our blog friends and if it's a repeat for you, that just means you're doubly deserving!

So we're giving it to:

1. Brian's Home - for Brian and all the girls

2. Cats in Trees - even when they don't say much, they say a lot

3. Cory Cat Blog - for Cory and all the gang

4. Ginger Jasper - we heart GJ

5. Fin - the confident Housecat Confidential

Now if you'll excuse us, we're going to go nap the rest of this Sunday away...

PS - we think you kitties are absolutely right about Callie being with us in spirit for the photo posted yesterday; in fact, we can just see her, there on the carpet near the pink puff bed, laying on her back with her belleh just begging to be snorgled.

Super Saturday Sextuplet

2010-01-09T07:05:00.002-06:00

Regular readers may recall how positively giddy The Mommy got when she was previously able to finally get all of us -- then numbered at 5 -- in one photo, which she called the Quintuple Cat Crown Jewel (first occuring for our 100th post back in mid-September and then again just a month later in October).

Sadly, in the 7 weeks that there were 7 of us -- after adding Gypsy and Ziggy and before losing Callie -- she never managed to get a photo with all 7.

Well, imagine her shock, surprise, and utter delight when she looked around the den on Wednesday night and realized that the remaining 6 of us were all in there! Gypsy has just in the past couple of weeks started venturing into the den again, after self-exiling herself in the dining room for most of her time with us since coming along just at Halloween. And not only were all 6 of us in there, but with careful squeezing into the doorway and pulling the chair that Bugsy was in just a little further over (without disturbing him so much that he'd jump out... MOL), The Mommy was able to get a photo of it!

So, we are pleased to present to you, our adoring fans, the first Super Spectacular Sextuple Cat Platinum Crown Jewel! (Yoo should bigify to see better....)

That should hold her for awhile....

Friday Fun - Caption This!

2010-01-08T06:05:00.001-06:00

We're having a little contest today! The Mommy just loves the photo we're posting today, it's just a fun spontaneous shot she caught of Ziggy while a Sunday night football game was on a couple of weeks ago. It was going to be a simple Wordless Wednesday photo, but we think it deserves a caption.

So the contest is -- give us your best caption! The winner, in our totally random nonscientific completely biased opinion, will win a little prize.

Here's the photo:

Have fun!

Triple Shot Thursday

2010-01-07T06:05:00.003-06:00

Now that winter is firmly here (we had a warm fall well through November, but it was also very rainy most of that time), we needed to remind ourselves of warm sunny days. This was probably the last day we got to go outside, one weekend in late September when Bugsy was home from cancer vet jail, before it got too dark during the week and too rainy or cool on the weekends.

So here's a triple shot of kitties on a Triple Shot Thursday...

(This post was pre-written over the weekend; overnight last night, we had an arctic blast move through with a wee bit of rain/ice, and the temp is expected to stay below freezing for the next couple of days, not that usual for this part of Texas...so more than ever, we miss the warm!)

and and

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-06T06:05:00.001-06:00

Pesky Brother

2010-01-05T06:05:00.002-06:00

So Ziggy has decided that I'm his own personal toy to pick on. And he's like 3-1/2 years younger than me! What's up with that! I've been trying to be nice and not put a major bitey on him or whack him into next week, but now that Chrismouse is over....well, he may just find No More Miss Meek Roxy next time he chases me through the house!

Look at this, for instance -- I was taking a nice nap, and he gets up there on the mantel above me, trying to look all intimidating.

Then he starts with the paw thing, like he's gonna reach me from up there. Yeah, whatever, dood.

Oh, okay, if the right paw doesn't reach, maybe the left one will? Hahahahaha.

Y'know, Zig, you better watch out...or you may just cry. Hmph.

Mancat Monday

2010-01-04T06:05:00.002-06:00

We mancats, Bugsy and Pixie, take our responsibilities for Mancat-in-Training Ziggy seriously. Here, we're teaching him the importance of Overseeing Our Domain from the top of the kitchen cabinets.

Notice how I (Pixie) switch it up with Ziggy in this next shot. It's good to get all viewpoints, as I might see something he missed, and vice versa.

We can be vigilant, yet relaxed at the same time. That's just common sense!

Easy Like Sunday

2010-01-03T07:05:00.002-06:00

Yawns...we gots 'em...

Please Welcome our VSquillion!

2010-01-02T07:05:00.001-06:00

We've joined the VSquillion adoption bandwagon! We've been approved for adopting a cute little black VSquillion, and we will hug him and pet him and squeeze him...but we won't name him George. [Bonus points if you get the reference. Yeah, we're weird. ]

Actually, his name is Caleb. And that stands for CAts who LEft Before. Caleb will serve in memory of all the kitties who have previously owned The Mommy that have already gone on to The Rainbow Bridge. Even though we started adoption proceedings in early December just after Callie got sick, we had no idea at the time that we'd have to be adding her to this list so soon, too.

Callie ~ 2003-2009
Tigger ~ 1994-2007
Felix ~ 1994-2007
Patches ~ 1989-2004 (owned The Mommy beginning in 1991)
Kasha ~ 1989-2003 (owned The Mommy beginning in 1991)
Rascal ~ 1987-2000 (owned The Mommy beginning in 1993)
Tom ~ unknown-1994 (owned The Mommy beginning in 1993)

This list doesn't include several kitties from her childhood as sadly she doesn't remember all the names and details, but they are covered by the intent of Caleb. There was a break from when she was 18 until she was 26 when she wasn't owned by any kitties; oddly enough, when she moved out at age 18 after having had kitties growing up and wasn't able to have a kitty in her first apartment, she developed allergies within a few months and thus didn't have any kitties for several years. She still has the allergies, she just puts up with it as it's not that bad.

Please join us in welcoming Caleb to The Kitty Krew!

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-01T06:05:00.004-06:00

Welcome to 2010!! (Sorry, should we whisper in case you have niptini hangovers? )

We hope your first day of the new year is a wonderful day. The Mommy is home with us today so we'll mostly be spending it napping and letting her wait on us paw and paw for our every whim. We're cats, we deserve it.

PS - A shout-out to our Auntie Tee, sisterbean to The Mommy, who has just started to read along on our bloggie! Everycat give her a welcome, wouldja? Maybe if our kitty cousins Orangello, Firecracker and Chaz catch her at it, they can talk her into getting their own bloggie...

Happy New Year's Eve!

2009-12-31T06:05:00.005-06:00

On this last day of 2009, like many of you we here at The Kitty Krew want to stop and reflect on our year.

We just started blogging in early June, and have had a great time. We've met so many wonderful friends all over the world. The cat community is so large in number, and yet so small at heart when it comes to offering help and support as soon as it's needed to anyone anywhere. Well, we have large hearts but we're like a small village. Y'all know what we mean. It's been a true pleasure to become a part of that community.

Even better, we learned about lots of new toys and treats and food and stuff that we conned...er, sweet-talked The Mommy into getting for us! She looks around the house and says that we have more stuff than she does. Teehee!

We added two new kitties to the Krew just before Halloween, when Gypsy and Ziggy were adopted from a shelter; and sadly, we lost one a week before Christmas when Callie got ill suddenly in early December and then didn't make it after surgery a week or so later. But our new friends were there with compassionate words of caring in post comments, emails, cards and more, just as we were there for others when their kitties were ill or lost, in either sense of the word. Woofies too, even though we don't visit woofie blogs that often or have many woofie visitors; we still hate to hear of anything bad happening to them.

It's mostly been a good year, it just happened to end on a real downer. Here's to a really good 2010, for us all.